India’s telecom regulator has issued renewed warnings against IMEI tampering, highlighting its use in fraud and illegal device activity, with stricter penalties and expanded oversight to combat a surge in telecom-related scams.
India’s telecom regulator has renewed warnings about IMEI tampering, saying the practice can be used to hide the identity of mobile phones and support fraud. The Department of Telecommunications said altering a handset’s International Mobile Equipment Identity number is illegal under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, and can attract up to three years in prison, a fine of as much as ₹50 lakh, or both.
The alert also widened beyond handset cloning to other forms of telecom misuse, including SIM cards obtained through false identity documents and the sharing of mobile numbers with other people. Officials urged users to check whether connections have been issued in their name and to use the government’s Sanchar Saathi service to verify devices and mobile links.
The warning reflects a broader push by authorities to curb a growing range of telecom-related scams. According to reports in local technology and business publications, the DoT has recently pointed to cases in which fraudsters used identities and SIM cards without consent, reinforcing advice that consumers should not buy suspiciously cheap phones, use unauthorised repair outlets, or hand over SIM cards registered in their own name.
That legal backdrop matters because IMEI numbers are widely treated as fixed identifiers, yet they can be altered or cloned in fraudulent schemes. The result is that a phone’s serial-like digital marker may no longer be reliable on its own, which is why officials are telling consumers, retailers and manufacturers alike to treat tampering as both a security threat and a criminal offence.
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